FG pleads with ASUU, vows holistic resolution of lingering issues
The Federal Government has formally appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to postpone its proposed strike, asserting that the government is prepared to resolve all outstanding issues “comprehensively and holistically.”
Minister of Education, Dr. Olatunji Alausa, made the appeal at a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, held just before a high-level committee meeting on the “FGN/ASUU 2025 proposed agreement.”
READ ALSO: FUOYE ASUU begins strike over unpaid salary
Alausa stated that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has issued a direct instruction that the proposed ASUU strike must be averted, affirming the President’s “commitment and political will, to resolve all the contending issues that would be mutually acceptable and respectful to all the staff unions.”
He stressed that there is “no basis for ASUU or any other staff unions in territory institutions to embark on industrial action,” making the President’s directive clear: “strike must be averted for Nigerian children to be in school.”
ASUU’s Ultimatum and Demands
The appeal follows ASUU’s issuance of a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government last week to meet its demands or face industrial action. The decision was reached at the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on September 28 at the University of Abuja.
ASUU’s key demands include the re-negotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, sustainable funding and revitalisation of universities, and an end to the victimisation of ASUU members at Lagos State University (LASU), Kogi State University (now Prince Abubakar Audu University), and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), among others.
READ ALSO: President Tinubu dissolves management, boards of federal government agencies, parastatals
Government’s New Negotiating Approach
The Minister noted that Wednesday’s meeting was for a “technical working group to finalise components of the condition of service for university workers and a counteroffer to ASUU.”
He disclosed that the Yayale Ahmed-led Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiating Committee will meet with ASUU leadership on Thursday to present the government’s offer. The committee has also “reached out to ASUU and other unions in tertiary institutions to start giving dates and times when they will meet.”
Alausa reiterated the President’s directive: “The directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to us is that our children must be in school; that we should do everything humanly possible to avert a strike. That’s why working behind the scenes to ensure a holistic resolution of the issues. We’ve not been talking about everything we’re doing.”
READ ALSO: The 2009 ASUU Agreement: A mirror of government failure, by Dr. Tukur Madu Yemi
He explained that the administration is working intensely on a “robust but affordable response” to the unions, saying the issues “predate 10-15 years ago” and that the current President “has given us the political will to resolve these issues once and for all.”
The Minister detailed a major shift in approach: “In the past, things were done in silos. There were three different Negotiating Committees that were set up, that’s not an efficient way to negotiate, we now have one negotiating committee that will talk with all tertiary institutions. That same committee will negotiate with academic staff and non-academic staff unions so that they can have a full grasp of what their needs are.”
He observed that 80% of the requests from unions across universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education are similar, with only 20% being specific to the particular institutions.
The new expanded committee, inaugurated on Monday, will work “continuously and expeditiously” to produce final agreements.
READ ALSO: #StopASUUStrike: Halt looming-devastating industrial dispute, by Prof. M. K. Othman
Commitment to Resolution and Implementation
Alausa urged ASUU and all the staff unions not to use strike as the first resort, acknowledging their patience, as the “contending issues have been ongoing for about two decades.” He emphasised, “And as I’ve said repeatedly, we will resolve it in a holistic, comprehensive manner that is mutually respectful to the unions in an affordable manner.
Something the government can afford.”
The Minister noted that implementation of some demands has already begun, citing the current administration’s release of ₦50 billion Earned Academic Allowance some months ago. He also stated that ₦150 billion was allocated in the 2025 budget as a revitalisation fund for tertiary institutions, while issues of promotion arrears would be captured in the 2026 budget.
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